What Coworking Unconference Asia 2018 (CU Asia) Taught me
A thought by Steve Munroe.
Dear CU Asia,
Every year you give me the gift of inspiration, insight and ignition.
2018 was no exception; you delivered in droves. But, what you also did was to act as an unmistakable signpost, a measuring stick of progress. Things are moving faster, spaces and investments are getting bigger and the stakes are getting higher. Friends are getting acquired for real money; other friends are closing down after having suffered huge losses. Asia may have entered the coworking scene later than other regions, but I would argue that evolution moves faster here. Asian coworking is, officially, in the big leagues.
Even in the face of massive changes, the community aspect of coworking is always vocal and well represented at CU Asia. Part of that is a reflection of our efforts as organizers:we intentionally set that tone in a more direct way than other events through our choice of speakers, locations and topics. It also reflects the inherent bias of who attends events like CU Asia in the first place; operators like WeWork avoid attending due to what I assume is corporate policy not to participate in industry events. CU Asia attendees run spaces of all shapes and sizes, but almost all lean towards strong community orientation in the first place. That is our common link.
And as always, I fly out from the event feeling both filled up and battered around by the sheer volume of insights gained in 5 days with my peers. In order not to lose them all completely, here are a few bumper stickers grabbing some of the themes that kept coming up:
Patience: “Community Building is not for marshmallow eaters.”
Referring to the famous experiment showing that success goes to those kids who can delay gratification (i.e. they don’t immediately eat the marshmallow in front of them), Lais de Oliveira implored people that are involved in community building (most of this crowd, for sure) to play the long game… it takes time to do it well.
Presence: “The most important person in the world is the one who is in front of you right now”.
Wow, I shuddered when Yizhao Zheng said that in her talk on convening mindful communities and the importance of presence. The world would change if we could all practice this a little more. Community requires connection; connection requires presence. Presence is the greatest gift you can give, a small moment where you are entirely with the person you are with.
Focus: “Learning what to say no to is as important as learning what we say yes to”.
That was Christoph’s advice when assessing which partnerships to pursue for your coworking space, whether local beer makers or corporate clients. But it holds a broader message about focus that crept into dozens of conversations during the event, and hundreds of smaller examples in my own life recently. As small business owners, we are constantly pulled in different directions by shiny new objects and opportunities. As Cal Newport says in his book Deep Work, we operate in a distracting world that fractures our attention to the degree that we are incapable of producing work of quality or meaning. Saying no is vital.
Team: “If you are the only one on your team that feels ownership over things, you’re f*ck&d”.
I couldn’t agree with this more. If your people don’t care, you need new people (or you have to give them something to care about). Key points from Lavinia Iosub and other speakers:
a) If you want a team filled with the ‘right people’, don’t hire the wrong ones to begin with.
b) Make people own their results, and make their own decisions to the degree possible.
c) Culture takes time to create and infuse through an organization, but it is reinforced (or degraded) with each decision you take.
Confidence: “If you want to earn money, you need to sell things.”
I love this simple statement from Claire. Yes, it is confusingly obvious. But in the community coworking arena, people often trip over themselves saying things like “it’s not about the money” and “all I care is that my community is happy’. In some ways, a contingent of the industry sees profitability and community as opposing forces which is entirely unhelpful. A while back, n a conversation with Hub Australia CEO Brad Krauskopf last year,I asked his opinion on what we could do to make CAAP and CU Asia more relevant. He replied: “help make coworking spaces better businesses”. If you can’t get good at sales, you won’t stay in business.
Quality: “Whoever says ‘don’t sweat the small details’ should never be trusted with anything of value”.
I would argue that it is always the details that matter, if you are aiming to create something of value that people will cherish. The small dish of candy at immigration in Singapore, after a long flight with kids, is a game changer, making you feel that your ship has reached friendly waters.
Besides all the points to ponder, the overwhelming feeling I have leaving CU Asia is, as always, gratitude. I, like many of my peers, realize that we are fortunate to work in the friendliest industry in the world’s most dynamic region.
Until next year!
Steve and the CU Asia Team (Special shout out to Hubud and PAPER + TOAST)
